Rose of Sharon by Lisa

Lisa made this amazing 120"x120" Rose of Sharon quilt. She added blocks to the original pattern and then had to modify the swags. She's been working on this stunning hand applique on and off for 20 years. My quilt holders couldn't get the whole quilt high enough to see the swags properly, so here are few photos on the frame. inside the swags are feather sprays, and outside are piano keys. When Lisa dropped the quilt off she wasn't sure if she was going to leave the quilt square or scallop it when she bound it, so the piano keys are OK to be cut down and truncated if she chose to scallop.

The blocks were crosshatched, and the sashings got "egg and dart" This project needed simple quiltng to allow the hand applique to shine.

The back looks OK too. Thank you Lisa, for trusting me with your work of art.

Speed Date with Improv

In 2021 I also got to do a zoom class with Krista Hennebury aka Poppyprint called Speed Date with Improv. She takes a lot of the decision making away for the purposes of the class by limiting the fabric pull to one color, black and white. I chose blue, navy and white. Then she takes you through making several types of improv blocks and then puzzling them together. I had fun, got this put togther, and then didn't know what to do with it, so it sat in the TBQ (ToBeQuilted) pile. Then, a few months ago, my middle, as he was thinking of moving out, started looking around and asked if I had any wall hangings I wasn't using, and that he might take with him. I pulled this one out, and he liked it. I asked if he wanted it finished as a wall hanging or a pillow, and he chose pillow.

I had fun with the quilting, all improv, no rulers for the straight lines.

I put a small wale courdory on the back. Partly because I had Neva's Patchwork Pillows in my mind, and they used courdory backings, and partly becuase I like it.

Hard Rock Cafe

I've been to one or two Hard Rock Cafe's but not very many. Sujatha made this quilt with her daughter's t-shirt collection. It was a thing for their family to go to Hard Rock everywhere they went.

Sujatha chose Es and 3s Edge to Edge design, always a classic.

Kaleidoscope

This quilt is one of mine. I just love this Kaldeidoscope plaids and stripes by Allison Glass fabric line, and so when I saw this Kaleidoscope kit at Keystone Modern Creative I just had to have it.

This pattern is paper pieced, and the only frustration I had in making it is I didn't follow the first step in every paper pieced pattern, probably becuase the quilt shop had printed the pattern out and sent it with the fabric,I didn't measure the 1" square to make sure it was the right size, and my first blocks wound up too small. I decided to start again as I didn't want a smaller quilt--I found the pattern online (see link above) and reprinted at the right size, and the quilt went together very nicely.

I had planned to keep this quilt for myself, but as I was making it, it told me in many ways that it belonged to my cousin. So it has gone to live with my cousin. Aren't the saturated colors in these fabrics great?

I did have scraps to play with though--so I've made a scrap top, and it's waiting in the TBQ (ToBeQuilted) pile, and maybe I'll get to keep that one.

and the 4 blocks that were too small are sewn together and will make a pillowtop

Crumb Quilt

In March 2021 I particpated in a crumb block Playcation with Cheryl Arkison I had been saving these crumbs as a "curated" group of scraps since making the Tula Pink 100 Modern Quilt blocks 5 years earlier, so it was time for them to be used! A playcation is a fun way to spend an afternooon--Cheryl Arkison is always good entertainment and there is always something to learn from her. So the photo above is the slab, or quilt top that I made. But I wasn't sure what to do with it, so it sat for about a year, and then I wanted to do a little demonstration for one of my quilt groups on how I made a quilted pillow top. I use a combination of online tutorials from Jaybird Quilts and from Elizabeth Hartman. I quilted up the slab I had made and made a pillow from it, and I LOVE it! I started out doing just straight-ish line quilting and even on such a small piece I found it to be so boring I quilkly had to switch it up. I really admire the look of straight line quilting--and now I admire the patience of those who do a lot of it.

I had some pieces left over from the slab, so I made a little bag too

Dawn and Sandra's Fire Escape

Dawn made this quilt with her mom, Sandra, which makes it a very special quilt. Dawn is going to use it on her bed, and wanted double batting, so it's delightfully heavy and cozy. The pattern is Fire Escape by Atkinson designs. Their patterns are always so well written.

I quilted this way back in March or April, when we were still operating under pandemic protocols, so Dawn dropped off the quilt and then we phone consulted about thread colors and quilting design. There were many great options for thread color.

We decided on the teal colored thread, and the E and 3's quilting pattern--its my go do design for a reason! It always adds great texture and movement. The fireside backing shows the quilting nicely, and adds to the weight and cozy of the quilt.